The Good Die Young
by takoyn Kudou
Summary: Birman is called to the hospital after a mission and reviews the boys files.


Hello everyone. Here's another fic. The song is Abraham, Martin and John sung by Harry Belafonte. Amazing song. I highly recommend it. Anyway, enjoy!

The call came in 10 minutes of the gunfire stopping. Within 20 minutes Birman was sitting in the waiting room of Kritiker's private hospital waiting for the doctor's to emerge from surgery. An hour had passed already and she was getting nervous.

When she left the office she had grabbed four files out of her cabinet, three of them dusty but each with a different amount.

Sighing she pulled them out of her briefcase and put them on her lap. The file with the most amount of dust on top and the freshest at the bottom. Brushing off the dust she opens the folder.

_Has anybody here,  
Seen my old friend Abraham, _

She looked over the picture and smiled a little to herself. Ken had been a good person. He had had a hard life. His time in the J-League so suddenly ended by someone who was suppose to be his best friend.

He was a good man who devoted a lot of time to his friends and the kids in the neighbourhood. She remembers the look of pain and hurt on the children's faces when they were told that he had left the flower shop and wasn't coming back.

_Can you tell me, where he's gone, _

He was good at his work. Both in the flower shop and on the missions. Too good actually. He cared too much about the people he rescued, especially when children were involved. He hated seeing them used for the pleasure of some sick and twisted adult. The number of children he helped and saved were countless. Some of them figured out where he lived. They joined his soccer team but kept his secret.

_He freed a lot of people _

He was saving a child when he died. One child couldn't walk because of an injured ankle. He picked the child up and ran with him in his arms. The two of them became separated from the rest of the group and got lost. They stumbled upon two agents of the ring. Ken put the child down and faced the two men but not all the strength, speed or skill could save him from the barrels of guns that faced him.

_But it seems the good die young, _

He was too close and unable to get to somewhere to hide. The kid he saved was able to escape. He found the others and told them about Ken. They rushed to the room the kid told them Ken was in but it was too late. His body lay in a puddle of blood that spoke volumes about his injuries. The three men picked up his body and carried it out to the car. They drove him to the same hospital where the doctors did what they could to make him look presentable. They removed the bullets, sewed the wounds closed, and cleaned him up. They gave the men his gloves. His other clothes were ruined. Holes filled them from the bullets Ken had been filled with.

_I just looked around,  
And he's gone  
_  
Three of the boys were left. They didn't want a replacement for Ken. Birman couldn't blame them. The four of them had been so close. Birman closed the file and put it back in her briefcase. She open the next one.

Aya. Ran. They were the same person but so different. The boy Ran was a happy boy who had parents who loved him and a sparkling younger sister. Aya, was a cold hard man who had no parents and a sister who had lost everything but her life. Even after his sister woke up he did not return to the boy Ran.

_Has anybody here,  
Seen my old friend Martin, _

He took his job seriously. He fought harder than any of the others, especially when the victims where young girls the same age has his sister. Those missions evoked rage in him that could not be matched by anyone. His swift yet graceful movements almost made his killing into an art. He hated wielding that sword. What he once considered a piece of art had become a weapon of murder and destruction. But that weapon of murder and destruction saved many young girls, some of them a number of times.

_Can you tell me, where he's gone,  
He freed a lotta people, _

It was hard to believe that it was a young girl who killed him. She posed as one of the victims. Pretended to be injured and claimed she couldn't walk. Aya picked her up and carried her. He fell behind Yoji and Omi and the girl had counted on that. She had concealed a knife her clothing. She plunged it into his back, spilling both of them on her floor. The details of what happened are still unclear to us, but Yoji and Omi noticed Aya was no longer with them. They went back to see the final blow. The girl was impaled on Aya's sword, her arm stretched out, the knife in Aya's chest.

_But it seems the good die young,  
_

Time stood still for a moment. It started again as the two of them pulled apart, stood staring at each other and then collapsed. The girl was dead obviously. Aya was a live, barely. He died in the car on the way to the hospital.

_I just looked around,  
And he's gone  
_

Two left. Birman closed Aya's file and place it on top of Ken's. Yoji and Omi were crushed after Aya's death. Two of their team mates and close friends dead in such a short amount of time.

They were taken off work for several months. Kritiker didn't want them working in such an emotional state. It was only after two months of only being required to run the shop when tragedy struck again.

_Has anybody here,  
Seen my old friend John,_

Yohji was out one night at a bar. He was seeking comfort in women, sex and alcohol again. He was on the dance floor with a young woman. They were being rather intimate in their dancing and someone took exception to it. That person turned out to be the young woman's husband. He walked up behind Yoji and grabbed him by the hair. Yoji fought back as the man proceeded to drag him across the room and out the door. Being drunk didn't help Yoji any. The man proceeded to beat him senseless in the alley. Leaving him bloody and staggering.

_Can you tell me, where he's gone  
He freed a lotta people,_

We can only speculate what happened after we talked to witnesses. When the man was satisfied with beating Yoji, Yoji stumbled out of the alley and towards Seven. He got in and started to drive home. He knew Omi would take care of him.

He drove through an intersection.

_But it seems the good die young_

A car ran a red light and smashed into his car, on the driver's side. Yoji was killed instantly. His neck broke, glass shattered and cut his face. Some bruises were hard to tell if they were from the beating he had received earlier or from the accident. The other driver walked away with a cut on his forehead and a concussion.

_I just looked around,  
And he's gone._

Birman closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She closed Yoji's folder and dug a tissue out of her purse. Reviewing the folders always made her sad. Made her miss the group that once was.

They did some of the hardest missions that Kritiker had to deal with. They put themselves completely into each mission.

_Didn't you love the things they stood for,_

Each of them brought something special to the team. Ken brought his cheerfulness and loyalty. Aya, his logic, quiet manner and leadership. Yoji and his laid back manner. The constant flirting with the schoolgirls and Manx. Omi with his energy and love for everyone on the team. He was always concerned about everyone's well being.

_Didn't they try to find some good for you and me,  
_

They were a wonderful group together. Everyday a bit of an adventure. She loved walking into that place to see what form of chaos was reigning that day. The three older boys were good for Omi. They were a family to him. Kritiker hoped to keep them all together when Weiss was retired.

_And we'll be free, _

Had the deaths of the others not occurred they would be retiring soon. Omi would be entering university without the worry of assassinating at night. Without having to lie to friends and a potential significant other. The others would have the chance to be three guys who ran a flower shop and lived normal lives. It was going to happen soon.

_Someday soon it's gonna be one day,  
_

Omi was put back to work a year after Yoji died. He needed that time off to regain his mental health. Kritiker tried to move him from the Koneko but he would have nothing of it. He insisted on staying and running the shop as best he could. Regular daytime help was brought in so he could go to school. They knew nothing of Omi's past. Nothing of Ken, Aya and Yoji. As far as they knew Omi was a boy who had just lost his family, which in a way was true.

When Omi was put back on duty he performed well. It was somewhat surprising since he had been off duty for so long. He was teamed up with some other members of Kritiker. The missions they took weren't as hard as Weiss' but they were difficult. Often risky.

_Has anybody here,  
Seen my old friend Bobby, _

The mission that called Birman into the hospital was a particularly risky mission. There was a high chance of being seen, caught or killed. Omi took it with no fear in his eyes. He had faced death too many times in his life already.

He had been spotted and shot several times while trying to escape. The people he worked with drove him to the hospital and then called Birman.

_Can you tell me, where he's gone, _

A flicker of movement in the room caught Birman's attention. She looked up and sat speechless watching what was before her. Omi walked down the hall towards her smiling. He rounded the corner to greet Ken, Aya and Yoji who were waiting for him, smiling with their arms open to him. They hugged him and talked to him but she couldn't hear what they said. They laughed and turned. They walked out the door together smiling and laughing.

_I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill,  
With Abraham, Martin and John_

A hand shook Birman's shoulder.

"Miss? Miss Birman?"

Birman's eyes fluttered open. She looked at the doctor leaning over her and blinked. She looked at the floor for a moment when she noticed the file was no longer on her lap. It had fallen and opened. Omi's picture smiled up at her.

"Yes, I'm Birman."

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Tsukiyono-san didn't make it. I'm sorry."

Birman looked around the room. It was empty expect for her and the doctor.

_I just looked around,  
And they're gone_


End file.
